Hi @kenz, the scratchiness could be helped by starting very lightly with your pencil. Practice barely making a mark on the paper -- use those initial strokes to help find the basic shapes of your subject. Once you are happy with the proportions of your layin, you can then begin moving into more specific shapes, remaining light with your strokes. You are moving from simple to complex. Once you find the lines that you feel really confident in, then you can darken them. Take your time with this, it will feel frustrating at times but in the beginning you really want to start practicing good habits. You'll speed up with practice! Hope that helps :)